Vintage Assessments Home Page

Recent Articles

Archive of National Post Articles

Sign-up Now!


Get Michael Vaughan's Buying Guide for today's Vintages Release today!
With a special  $20 Discount
Click Here

Vintage Plays Havoc with Classic Contenders
A Delicious Knockout for 2002 Ornellaia

© Michael Vaughan 2006
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday, May 27, 2006

LIVE WINE LINK
www.winefind.ca

(CLICK ON THE NAME -
All listings are automatically linked to the LCBO database)
If there is a product that interests you, just click on the name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The product will appear in blue and all you have to do is click on the name again and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search. Just click on store search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. Call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is listed).

Call it the battle of the Titans, but in today's Vintages release and the upcoming one on June 10, feature two mega Italian reds, which might normally be found in the Classics Catalogue. They have many things in common. First, they both come from the cool, wet 2002 vintage, which has been dismissed by many wine pundits. The second thing is that they both come from Tuscany. Third, they are based on Bordeaux grapes and cost over $100 a bottle.

When I tasted Tenuta dell'Ornellaia 2002 Ornellaia (722470) in today's release, it was love at first sip. Refined, very gently smoky, intense ripe plum and sandalwood on the nose. Lovely, complex and yet harmonious, well structured, ripe plum flavours with elegant, rounded tannins. One of the most accessible, delicious Italian reds I have tasted in a very long time. The fact that it cost $139.95 didn't disturb me - "at last something worth the price," I thought.

But then I started to have second thoughts. The reason? I saw the score awarded this wine by the Wine Spectator (aka WS) - a miserly 90 points! With all the wines achieving 90 points these days, surely something was amiss. While the 2002 certainly didn't have the intense backbone and structure of the coveted, intense 2001 Ornellaia, which scored WS 95-points, it did have something that the 2001 didn't have - perfect 100-point drinkability.

Well that apparently is not important to the folks who invest in wine. They need to have something they can put away for years, perhaps even decades, before it becomes drinkable. To hell if it tastes awful now. Who cares if we will never know when it will be at its "peak" of drinkability? Or that it is challenging to marry with food. It's a 100-point wine and that's all that matters. Indeed, some palates have actually become acclimatized to drinking hard, aggressive, youthful wines that cost a fortune.

Surely something is wrong with this picture, at least for the simpler folk, who are prepared to fork out $139 on a blissful red only to be told that it's really isn't that good because you can actually enjoy it today. Whoever coined the moniker, the Wine "Speculator" hit the nail on the head. If you can't lay it away, it's not worth a second look.

Some might argue that this 2002 doesn't deserve a higher score because it comes from a challenging year. Thankfully, some wineries can rise to the occasion by being extremely careful in the selection of grapes. At Ornellaia, the grapes were carefully sorted with only the ripest unblemished ones surviving. After passing through the destalking machine, all remaining stalks were removed by hand on sorting tables. Also, all unripe grapes clusters were left in the vineyard. This resulted in a huge reduction in production - only 110,000 bottles the lowest level since 1991 (vs. 218,000 bottles in 1995), but a tremendously delicious red with 14.5% alcohol.

I wish I could be as enthusuiastic about the upcoming release of Marchesi Antinori 2002 Solaia (987586), but I can't. While Solaia means the "sunny one", inclement weather seems to have wreaked more havoc here resulting in a lowly WS 87-point score. While my own tasting note is more generous - bright with ripe plum and chocolate flavours and garrigue notes - one has to contend with the reality that at a breath-taking $129.95, Solaia just does not deliver.

Usually 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 20% Sangiovese, the bad whether meant that the 20% Sangiovese part of the blend had to be cut out all together. The result was 90% Cabernet Sauvignon (highest ever) and 10% Cabernet Franc. Sadly, Solaia simply doesn't have the depth of flavour and richness of Ornellaia, which is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. It is the Merlot component, actually a unique clone of Merlot called Masseto, that brings a lush quality to this reliably delicious red.

Moving on the best white of the release, one should set sail for California. But remember - bring lots of money. Recommended by Vintage Assessments! For the first time in memory, a Kistler Chard has shown up in Vintages. I don't know who to thank, the LCBO or its agent, Rob Groh at The Vine. Whatever, Kistler 2004 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (642710) at $79.95 is a blockbuster - probably as big as it gets in terms of structure and intensity. The nose is essence of key lime pie nose with hints of smokiness. On the palate it is intensely rich and mouthfilling with smoky, very slightly sweetish, lime custard flavours and a lingering caramel finish. Forget fish; try it with a rack of lamb.

For those of us who are searching for value, the best buy white of the release is Val de Vid 2004 Condesa Eylo Verdejo (673525) at $13.95. Made exclusively from Verdejo grapes, it is considered to be the pride and joy of Spain's Rueda region, which is located northwest of Madrid. It has a very light straw colour but surprisingly intense, very appealing, honeysuckle, ripe white peach aromas. Its dry, tasty, unoaked, zesty, ripe rhubarb, peach and dried pear flavours stand up and say hello. With only 200 cases in Vintages, better stock up now for the summer.

If I had one best buy red to choose from, it would have to be Australia's Elderton 2003 Friends Cabernet Sauvignon (595389) at $17.95. As part of their Barossa Vineyard Series, it is starting to show some maturity and is in top drinking form. The nose is quite seductive with spicy, chocolate-cherries. On the palate it is rich, spicy and medium-full bodied with plummy, cherry flavours followed up by a lingering, cedar-sandalwood finish. Weighing in at 14.5%, it shows fine versatility - great with steak, lamb or even ribs hot off the bbq.

2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006 Tasting Note Database
Our tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to April 2006, covers every Vintages release product for the past 64 months. There are more than 12,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name, as well as current LCBO store inventory by clicking on "Check LCBO Availability", which will automatically tell you the number of bottles at LCBO as of last night.

To use our Tasting Notes Database: click here
 

** For All Visitors **
Vintages Releases
To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
May 27 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
June 10 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
June 24 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2006
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
 (electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net